On the Road: 1971 Volvo P1800E

Calgary Vintage Racing Club members love their classic 'swede' racecar

This 1971 Volvo P1800E is a street legal, track day car and after years of owning strictly American muscle is Regis Sylvestre's first sports car.Regis Sylvestre

CALGARY — Road racing can be a thrill a minute and might involve some spectacular incidents.

After a couple of such episodes in her open-top TriumphTR6, racing enthusiast Stephanie Barnes and her husband Regis Sylvestre, both members of the Calgary Vintage Racing Club, decided it was time to get a car with a hardtop.

“The Triumph has a roll bar, but the last incident involved some debris entering the car,” Sylvestre says. “So, we started searching for a suitable car to transform into a racecar and we landed on buying a Volvo. They have excellent four-wheel disc brakes, they’re light and they’re well-built.”

In August 2013 the pair located a 1971 Volvo P1800E in Victoria, B.C. In Volvo parlance, the ‘E’ denotes the car is equipped with fuel injection. Barnes booked a flight to Victoria and took a chequebook with her. If it was the car they were told it would be, she planned on driving it home. What she found was a P1800E that had originally been a California car, equipped with air conditioning and an automatic transmission. However, the A/C had been stripped out and a four-speed standard gearbox with electric overdrive had been swapped into the car while the Volvo gold paint had been sprayed over in a bright red.

There was some light body damage, but the car’s 2.0-litre, inline-four cylinder engine that’s good for 130 horsepower and 130 lb.-ft. of torque had been freshly rebuilt. Barnes bought the car, drove it onto the ferry and performed its first oil change in Langley.

1971 Volvo P1800E

Regis Sylvestre

1971 Volvo P1800E

Regis Sylvestre, Driving

1971 Volvo P1800E

Regis Sylvestre, Driving

1971 Volvo P1800E

Regis Sylvestre, Driving

1971 Volvo P1800E

Regis Sylvestre, Driving

1971 Volvo P1800E

Regis Sylvestre, Driving

1971 Volvo P1800E

Regis Sylvestre, Driving

With the car home in Calgary, the pair began working on it with the intention of turning it into a road racer.

“The more we got into it, we found it was just too nice a car and we didn’t want to race it in anger,” Sylvestre says.

Originally from Saskatoon, Sylvestre says he’s loved cars since he was a kid. He became a journeyman mechanic and for 10 years repaired cars for a living until he attended the University of Saskatchewan as a mature student, graduating in 1993 with a degree in geology. He moved to Calgary, worked for 20 years in the oil industry, and retired.

But his passion for cars never wavered.

“I love all cars, but my main love is muscle cars,” he says. “We’ve got a small collection of those, but Stephanie bought the Triumph TR6 in 1997, and started road racing in 2006. With Calgary’s Race City now gone, we travel to tracks in Edmonton, Mission, Portland, Kent and Spokane – we’ve been to Gimli, Manitoba, too. We’re usually at a race per month during the spring, summer and fall.”

While the original suspension in the P1800E was shot and the steering components needed to be replaced, the car had no rust anywhere.

“So we decided to build it as a street-legal, track day-only car,” Sylvestre says.

That means the P1800E won’t see wheel to wheel race action, but it could be driven on the street to the track for laps and home again. With help from Olof Malmberg and his Vintage Import Parts emporium in Point Roberts, Washington, Sylvestre found most of the pieces needed to mechanically and cosmetically rebuild the car. Starting with new suspension, the ride height has been lowered 2-inches up front and 1-1/2-inches in the rear. Classic Auto Body in Olds, Alberta took care of bodywork and paint.

“We didn’t want to do it the original gold colour, and instead chose to finish it in blue,” Sylvestre explains.

With the car back from the body shop, Sylvestre removed everything from the engine bay – with the exception of the engine – and painted and detailed under the hood. Next time, he says, he’ll simply remove the engine to make that an easier task.

Inside the Volvo, a full roll cage and Kirkey racing seats were installed. Next, it was taken to Graham Cannon of Bell Airr Auto Trim in Turner Valley, Alberta. Cannon laid down sound deadening material and new carpet. He also made door panels and trimmed out the rest of the interior.

“We installed a fuel cell in the trunk, a fire suppression system and performance tires on aftermarket 15-inch Panasport rims,” Sylvestre says, and continues, “But we left the engine mostly stock, including the Bosch fuel injection system and the exhaust.

“There’s a part of me, though, that likes to soup everything up, and I envision putting on four Weber carburetors, a header and exhaust and a lumpier camshaft. I think that would open up a whole new world of performance in that Volvo.”

By now you’re probably wondering what Barnes is currently road racing. While she still has her Triumph TR6, shortly after deciding not to campaign the P1800E she found a race-prepared Volvo 142. The P1800E is Sylvestre’s car now, and it’s his first sports car.

With two Volvos in the family, Sylvestre admits they’re becoming well versed in the art of looking after the fast, yet safe, Swedish-built automobiles.

Greg Williams is a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC). Have a column tip? Contact him at 403-287-1067 or gregwilliams@shaw.ca

WHAT’S NEXT

Apr. 29: Nifty Fifty’s Ford Club of Calgary and Heritage Park have teamed up to host Spring Thaw, the car show event that heralds the return of the cruising season. All makes and models, antique, custom, hot rod and muscle cars welcome. Registration is $20 per vehicle and includes one guest admission to Gasoline Alley. Spectators are welcome free of charge, but Heritage Park’s $5 parking fee will apply. Donations of cash/food accepted for the Interfaith Food Bank. Show runs from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and there is no rain date. For more information, visit www.niftyfiftysfordclub.ca

May 5 – 6: Kickstart Motorcycle Expo — Volume 4 features custom garage-built motorcycles from the greater Calgary area and beyond at the Christine Klassen Gallery at #200, 321 50 Ave. S.E. This gallery is next door to the IKF + TANK motorcycle shop and they are the hosts of the show. Expect a wide variety of machinery, from restorations to complete one-off custom builds. For more info, email info@illfatedkustoms.com